1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to systems, processes, methodologies, apparatus and related software to provide graphical user interfaces for use with communications hardware. More particularly, the invention relates to the field of graphical user interfaces that provide real-time visual display of bandwidth utilization for content streams routed through broadband media routers. Accordingly, the general objects of the invention are to provide novel systems, methods, apparatus and software of such character.
2. Description of the Related Art
Broadband media convergence between video, audio and data creates a chaotic environment of different standards and legacy communications technologies. The relationship between physical and logical resources in such systems needs to be manipulated and communicated between broadband hardware, its control system and the operator. Conventionally, this is accomplished with the use of dedicated control computers for each piece of communications hardware associated with the task of routing multimedia. Therefore, modem communications hardware personnel, such as cable operators and television programmers, use great numbers of diverse equipment, each of which is managed by a separate control system hosted on a separate computer. Conventional communications systems of this nature also typically require the use of hyper-technical operator interfaces in order to configure conventional broadband equipment. For these and other reasons, most of such systems are nearly intolerably difficult to utilize, counter-intuitive, cryptic, inefficient and expensive to purchase and operate.
Another problem with conventional broadband communications hardware is their inability to conveniently provide operators with information regarding the system hardware and software. This is, in part, due to the fact that current broadband communications hardware is not sophisticated enough to indicate various attributes of plural data streams. Additionally, user interfaces for conventional broadband communications hardware require skilled personnel to configure routing control for various programs. The difficulties associated with conventional methods of routing control make it extremely difficult to efficiently utilize system bandwidth. Therefore, operators of conventional broadband media routers often underutilize the bandwidth available to perform content stream routing. Given that transport bandwidth is still a precious commodity in this field, this is a significant deficiency.
There is, accordingly, a need in the art for novel methods, systems and apparatus for use in a broadband media router that captures both input bandwidth utilization and output bandwidth utilization data and permits comparative display of these values to occur in real-time. Such methods and apparatus should be sensitive enough to permit operators to perform a visual assessment of the transcoding algorithm efficiency of a broadband media router. Such methods and apparatus should also be able to display bandwidth minima and maxima over a given time period.
There is a further need in the art for novel methods, systems and apparatus that provide operators with real-time bandwidth utilization feedback in order to assist the operators with attempts to maximize bandwidth utilization in a broadband media router. Such methods and apparatus should have the ability to recalculate available bandwidth in real-time and while content stream editing is being performed. This would enable operators to more easily allocate bandwidth among the various content streams so that maximum bandwidth utilization could be achieved. In order to maximize flexibility, such methods and apparatus should also have the ability to break routed content streams down into constituent components for display.